Seasonal, body weight and gender variation of tetrodotoxin in horseshoe crab Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda collected from Can Gio coast, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
Abstract
Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used for measurement of the variation of tetrodotoxin (TTX) in a horseshoe crab Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda collected from Can Gio coast, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from May 2021 to May 2022 over the seasons, body weight and gender. The d ata revealed that t here was significant variation of TTXs level over the months with maximal TTXs toxicity determined of 197.6 ± 134.5 MU/g for specimens collected in May 2021, whereas the C. rotundicauda collected in January 2021 was found to yield minimum TTXs level of 7.8 ± 8.4 MU/g. Interestingly, the difference of TTXs level in different body-weight C. rotundicauda groups was also statistically significant, with maximal TTXs toxicity of 230.3 ± 116.3 MU/g determined for specimens having body weight of greater than 300 g, while the lowest level of TTXs (9.8 ± 12.3 MU/g) was assayed for C. rotundicauda group of body weight less than 150 g. Moreover, there was a significant difference in TTXs levels among female and male C. rotundicauda groups, with notable higher TTXs toxicity determined for female specimens (123.9 ± 45.8 MU/g) than that of male C. rotundicauda (68.7 ± 45.8 MU/g). The present data revealed that despite season, gender and age variation of TTXs were in C. rotundicauda from Vietnam. The high level of TTXs of 96.3 ± 94.2 MU/g detected in this horseshoe crab indicated that they are unsafe for human consumption.